See below for answers to questions that may be of interest to undergraduate students and workers. Email us if you have questions that aren’t answered below!
What is GSOC-UAW Local 2110?
GSOC-UAW Local 2110 is the union that graduate employees at NYU have chosen to represent them in negotiations over terms and conditions of their employment since 1998. From 2002 to 2005, GSOCers were the first private university graduate employees to have ratified a union contract with their employer. After 2005, under President John Sexton, NYU chose to stop negotiating with GSOC after a decision by the George W. Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board gave them that option, but we continued to organize for 8 years, eventually winning recognition from NYU through a private agreement and 98.4% “Union Yes” vote in a December 2013 election.
Why do graduate students need a union?
Graduate students lead precarious lives. We live on relatively little funding, but we juggle heavy work-loads that often involve completing our own independent research while teaching, assisting professors with their research, and completing coursework and degree requirements. After we graduate, we often face a very difficult labor market for academic jobs, a symptom of shifts occurring in higher education that also include a trend toward hiring adjunct and contingent faculty instead of tenure-track faculty. Unionizing improves our living conditions, which makes us better, less stressed, and more available teachers for you. It also gives us a vehicle to push back against these systemic changes in academic labor.
I want to support my unionized grad student workers. How can I help?
Thanks for your support! You can support us by:
- Joining us at rallies and public events. You can find out about these via our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
- Following us on social media.
- If you have a student group or campaign you would like us to support, please get in touch with our Political Solidarity committee.